The Hot List 2011

Amanfayun, Hangzhou

Amanfayun lies
between bamboo forests and verdant valleys of Longjing green tea,
on the edge of Hangzhou, one of the seven ancient capitals of
China. Its 42 dwellings, with stone floors, camphor-wood walls and
clay-tiled roofs, date from the Tang dynasty and once housed
villagers who worked in the tea fields. Embracing heritage,
tradition and the understated luxury typical of Amanresorts, the
whole village has now been painstakingly restored, providing a
fascinating glimpse of China's past as
it hurtles headlong into the future. Wander the village path as it
meanders through horse chestnut trees and sweet osmanthus, past The
Steam House (with its delicious aromas of dumplings, steamed beef
and lotus root), the He Cha Guan Tea House (where you can try not
'all the tea in China' but certainly the best), the boutique filled
with local bamboo chopsticks and delicate silk slippers, the
Western Restaurant and the spa. Here five separate buildings
include a bath house (the bedrooms only have showers), a
reflexology room, an open t'ai chi and meditation room and
treatment rooms where local wild ginger, green tea, bamboo and
sweet osmanthus are used to steam and scrub. At the foot of the
village lies one of China's 10 most important Buddhist temples, the
fourth-century Lingyin Si. The rooms and suites vary in shape and
size, with the emphasis on authenticity, not technology. Talented
designer Jaya Ibrahim has made masterful use of paper lanterns,
unadorned calligraphy and wooden Chinese latticework to recreate a
previous era.

When to
goSpring or autumn, as winter is cold and summer is
monsoon time.